Saturday skate update
Posted on November 24th, 2007 – 3:37 PMBy Kent Youngblood
Youngblood here, and I have to apologize for the lateness of this post. In my defense I plead travel woes. Now, I don’t want to step on sacred Michael Russo ground here, but I had a bad, bad travel day. I was in Denver Friday covering the Wolves game. Then I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a 5:30 flight out of Denver for Nashville through Memphis. I fully intended to give you a quick update after morning skate. Problem is, I fell asleep.
Anyway, enough complaining.
A brief update: Looks like Sean Hill will be a healthy scratch tonight, with Keith Carney apparently getting the nod. Don’t know yet which healthy forward will be watching from the press box. Niklas Backstrom will again be in goal.
Jacques had a morning meeting with some of his skill players. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow’s paper, but his basic message was for those guys to quit trying to do it all by themselves. Jacques thinks their gripping the sticks a little tight these days and he told them to relax. We’ll see if that works.
That’s about all. later
72 Responses to "Saturday skate update"
Nice to see Bax still in the net, I still think this string of difficulty lies more on the skaters than netminder. Especially yesterday, where he stood no chance on the first and third and only better rebound control (or weakside D paying attention) could have stopped the fourth.
A couple of the guys are trying a little too hard, PMB and Gabby would fall in that category. Hard to say the same for Rolston or Belanger though, they’ve been to silent.
With a new month coming up, I look forward to see the C on someone else’s shoulder. They way he has battled, and the versatility he has shown since the loss of Demo, Parrish deserves to have it back. Hopefully for a run similar to March’s last year.
Thanks for the update Kent. Good to hear you got some shuteye. We’d hate to have you fall of some crazy catwalk if the wild have another sleeper tonight.
Might be time to get those smelling salts back on the bench again or check to be sure the pregame coffee isn’t decaf.
Working tonight so the game is being DVRd at my place. Hoping for better but I see the healthy scratch defenseman still isn’t you-know-who. Oh, well. Here’s hoping.
rolston and the C. was rolston awarded the C or did he inherit it from Demtira going down? can’t remember
good point about weak side D. I noticed Hill overplaying the puck side quite a bit yesterday. He may not have been the only one but after the game got out of hand i keyed on him to see if he could show me something to change my opinion of him.
question about penalty kill defense. It appears to me that the back pair play up and let the other team wander in front of the goal and down low. they only go down there if the puck goes down there. I don’t have enough hockey knowledge to understand what that accomplishes.
I have a gig tonite so no Wild watching for me either.
We’ll see if there is any difference.
I can’t believe someone in the previous blog believed that a team upgraded by adding Wyatt Smith. Look, I like MN guys too but remember what he added for the Wild–nothing. There are many Wyatt Smiths around–and Moore is one of them–hustlers with limited talent. By the way I agree with the person who complained about the slowdown cowboy messages. I haven’t posted in a few days and got one when I went to post.
there is something wrong with HNIC being in phoenix
Green*- I would think the D-men playing up on the PK would be to trying to block shots and passes from getting through. Didn’t work very well Friday did it? One goal went off of Hill’s glove, then Skoula stopped one with his skate and it went right to Vyborny for an easy goal.
I’m not sure if the D-men playing higher is intentional. Could be a reason why the PK is struggling. I would have thought the Wild would have wanted to hang lower against CLB to keep Nash in check. That’s just my theory.
I smell more ugliness tonight. “Quit trying to do it all by themselves” JL tells them. Ha! Now we are in for a night of see who can pass the puck to who and around and round we go and nobody shoots the puck. I can only hope I am wrong, but the Wild seem destined to have minimal SOG and once again search for someone to put the puck in net.
Normally, Belanger, Koivu, Walz, and Shephard are the Centermen … Moore is not in the mix.
So, if you consider Wyatt Smith, there was no place for him in the 2007 Wild.
That was before Koivu’s injury and Walz’s unforeseen departure.
i take JL saying quit trying to do it by yourself is quit trying to make the impossible play. keep it simple. move the puck, shoot the puck, crash the net. Lately it seems they boys always went for one more pass that inevitably got broken up. don’t wait for the perfect play to open up, take what you got and make things happen.
Man I miss Koivu. What a talent. Should be the permamnent A or C with Parrish in the discussion. How come nobody wants to bring up Skoula’s name. Yikes! He sucks.
Best time to make adjustments. 75% of the season to go
If this game looks as bad as last night I am changing the channel. I am in no way jumping off the bandwagon. I will still support the team but that doesn’t mean that I have to watch them get their butts handed to them again and again. It hard to watch them lose so much.
I usually just read and rarely comment, but I couldn’t help myself here.
“Jacques thinks their gripping the sticks a little tight…”
Their? Not ‘they’re’ ?
One thing that concerns me is their play in their own end. Vancouver cycled them to death and they were unable to contain the Sedin line. Same thing with Calgary, Iginla’s line just seemed to dominate in the Wild’s zone. It was a similar situation with Columbus. JL runs a good center-low system in the zone, but the defense is too often unable to deal with the top lines. The Wild are giving up too many good chances or taking penalties in this situation. Let’s see how they do here against Nashville.
kgopher- I know what you mean. When they had the 5 game losing streak a few weeks ago I told myself I wouldn’t watch again til they finally won again. Luckily I only needed to miss one game, maybe I should try that again now…
I still believe that this is not a talent issue because we know when this team is working they play really well.
Do we need more grit? yes
Do we need to get our fire back first? Abso-freaking-lutely
Hold on. It may be a bumpy night…..
JL thinks that individual players are trying to do it by themselves. We, as fans, think there should be more effort overall.
Who’s right? Who’s wrong?
Don’t fall asleep, Kent. Wake up, buddy, c’mon there…
(and as I write this, Skouba pulls a ‘Skouba’ and sends the puck right over the glass, for a Nashville power play.)
pretty good PK and we even got a breakaway at the end (too bad Foy is the one who caught the pass).
Well are chances in this game just jumped. Wild up 1-0 with the all important first goal.
haha of course this would happen…down 1-2 5 minutes later.
Sheppard-Foy-Voros is the best line, damn.
ok, here we go. Skoula under pressure throws the puck over the boards, Foy, barely in the lineup, gets a penalty, score 1-1. Foster can’t handle the forechec, throws the puck up the boards, 2-1 Nashville. Guys, this is Pee Wee stuff. Also, note the non coverage in front of the net on the 2nd goal. This is either bad personnel that won’t listen or can’t learn or it’s coaching. (I still can’t believe JL can’t coach with 9 SC rings.
By the way, Skoula just happened to be the left D on that play.
The score should be 2 zip Wild. Nice simple play by the Sheppard line.
And…Voros gets caught picking his nose on TV……ROFL.
The Wild should win this one since they did not play a second period, they should have plenty of energy in the third. If Russo or Youngblood looked at the stats, this is how the Wild win most of their games. They play the 1st period and 3rd…the second is always an intermission.
1 goal on 6 shots…nice work boys.
I see Kelly Sutherland is officiating tonight..wise of JL to scratch Boogaard.
Looking forward to the third.
Kinda of off topic……I hope somebody somewhere got a picture of Boogaard and Fedoruk sitting next to each other in the penalty box with the same team sweater on. Classic.
Looks like Boogie is the odd man out and Branko is in. interesting…….
Green* - I hope your theory is right. They do do alot of that extra passing crap. Just shoot the puck.
Kid line looks good tonight.
Finally, some of the “top” guys put one in.
at least we ain’t the leafs. smoked in phoenix.
hold on to this lead and we are back in first
six - is the varnishing done?
Close, but not quite. All day tomorrow.
Glad the Wild are in the game, it’s a nice way to end a loooong day of varnishing.
i could think of one or two better ways to end a loooong day of varnishing.
better play tonight. still some issues but still better play.
didn’t foy get picked on nashville’s third goal?
Hot Damn! About time. That gets the monkey off.
Well it wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it. Coming into the week I expected us to split these past two games, this just wasn’t how. Back in first place.
Great game- The Wild look tougher already- Getting tougher is not smoething that’ll happen overnight, but they’re doing it.
To all you Skoula-haters: Did you see him protecting Backstrom late in the game throwing a hard shoulder into Gelinas?
Bring up Kalus, have him join our young nucleas- he looks like he’s physical and can score. Show the fans what we got in the Manny Fernandez trade goddamnit.
Not exciting, but it’s 2 points, and at this point, I’ll take ‘em!!
Personally, I am glad Radio gets the winner.
Good win, nice to see Bax prove me right.
Fedoruk continues to show why he does not belong in a wild sweater. First shift and he fails to clear the zone on two consecutive chances. Second sees him holding (and then hooking when he falls behind even with the hold) and only spared because it was off the puck infraction. Then he does it again (was that just his third shift?) to actually get called for it.
Skoula, ugh. Maybe if they would just admit that this guy was the bottom of the blueliners I could accept him. But he breaks the zone too early and lets Nashville free in front for the second, and follows it by that brilliant play on the highsticked puck (Leon Lett anybody?)
Other than that, they played good team hockey. Not all the effort was there, but they actually played what they preached and supported each other well. Used teammates instead of doing it themselves, and it worked out.
It was nice to see a win. I am hoping this is the beginning to winning ways. They face an over-confidenced team in Phoenix on Wed since they just crushed Toronto 5-1.
This game was Wild old time hockey. They got outshot 43-25, heavily relied on Backstrom who saved 40 out of 43. Then they got a last minute goal when the game should have headed into OT.
This should be a confidence builder. Since the “Kid” line is doing so well, it should be time for JL to split up that line…I hope not.
They played with a lot of effort and got some breaks.
Radio has a little breathing room with the game winner.
Greenstar:
I thought on the third that Foy had the puck when he was hit, but I could be wrong.
FWIW: Carney was a +3 for the evening…
FWIW: Fedoruk is -3 with 4 penalties in 2 games. Hope the Aeros fans enjoy him.
Moore with two assists…did not see that happening. He still went 7-15 on the faceoff with 47% win rate. This team needs Mikko back since they only won 28 out of 66 faceoffs.
Once Demo, Mikko and Nummi come back…things should start flying again.
Lines will then be:
Demo-Mikko-Gabby
PMB-Belanger-Rolston
Voros-Sheppard-Foy
Veilluex-Radio-Parrish
Schultz-Nummelin
Carney-Burns
Johnsson-Foster
Extras: Fedoruk, Boogaard, Moore, Hill and Skoula
i had thought he lost it to the opponent by the time he got smacked. didn’t record so i can’t go look.
i didn’t see the wild being any tougher then any other game.
foy still shouldn’t be here, i don’t care if he scored.
Cam:
I like the lines, if only they would be. Pull foster/nummi for skoula and likely radio for moore to center and you likely have your lines.
Anyone else think that playing with Voros has been a big help for Foy? He seems to actually stay in the play and run into corners when he plays with Voros, he is playing a lot like he did in early training camp when he actually looked worth the roster spot he’s been sitting on. Hopefully he keeps it up.
I think ultimately Foy and Fedoruk will end up in Houston. I see Nummi taking Foy’s spot and Fedoruk should have never have been here.
Skoula is a replacement/third shift defense, when the scoring line is out..This guy has to be replaced next year, no doubt about it.
Carney, Skoula and Hill…it is their last season with the Wild. The Wild need to look for defenseman in 08.
Yes, I think Voros is a great addition to the team and he makes the team tougher and so does Fedoruk. Say what you want to about Fedoruk’s skills with the puck, but he’s here because we need another goon to take the heat off Boggey and protect our pussies- I mean players. Bring up Kalus.
Forgot to mention…hope Foster is ok with that shot to the head. What is the word on him?
Branko should stay, Moore, Skoula and Fedorak should be off this team. Come on, Brankos an all right banger who can make good decisions as well as consistantlely get the puck on the forecheck. He is a decent all around player and a great energy guy. Fedorak averages 1 goal and 7 assists a year and Branko will quadroople that easy. Fridge = Nazarov A mistake for sure if this is who gets Branko’s spot. IMO
Ok, that was better. I could watch that. Like Voros. Dont like skoula, not impressed with Fedoruk. Cam, heard Foster had a cut and swelling, would b out for the night and reevaluated here. Above the eye, gorg made it sound like he would be ok and not out long for what it worth.
My other comment is awaiting moderation. In it I stated thanks for Kgophers update on Foster. I think I spoke about SRV’s facemask and used the B-I-R-D word as a reference. Can see no other reason it was being moderated.
The 3rd goal by Nashville rested on the non-hustle of my bud Kimmy J. He was along the boards with Fiddler when it looked like the puck was going to clear the zone. He was admiring the play so much he let Fiddler head to the front of the net when the turnover occurred and guess what..shot and goal with Kimmy J coming in 2 steps too late. Fortunately Radio saved his arse with his sweet top shelf job. $4.5M and his cost will continue to rise! The gals on our broomball team play better D than Kimmy J. Heck, one even blocked one of my shots in practice today and was definately tougher about it than Kimmy would ever be.
Better, not good enough, but better. Voros is my favorite player right now. Lets see what the next few days brings. Wed ought to tell us a lot as far as Koivu, Demo and any possible moves.
Tonite’s game was a step in the right direction. Looked more like Wild hockey and a little tougher. Anytime you get 2 points on the road it’s a good thing. Intensity in the first period looked good, but seemed to dwindle down as the game went. That could be from some guys playing minutes that they are not accustomed to.
Don’t count on Koivu being here Wednesday.
Fractures don’t heal so fast.
Give Fedoruk a few games before you decide. For Radio to be here he must play with energy including making it tough on the opposition or score key goals on occasion or some combination.
I am glad he got the GW tonight. We could use some good play from him.
For you who think you want to get rid of JL, it is unlikely we will ever have a more effective coach anytime in the next 25 years. I hope he stays.
Also, maybe with all the injuries, Moore will reinvent himself into a dependable hockey player.
are we still ninth? geez i thought we were out of it. no calls for jl’s head tonight.
I missed the game but assume it was a win circa 2003. Outshot by a big margin, opportunistic and win late.
2 points is 2 points.
It should be a better week.
Branko got a nice goal there on a nice feed from Moore. I think Branko is definitely feeling the heat, but I still wasn’t really impressed with his game. He’s not really hitting anyone, he’s not really good at clearing the zone… Not that I like Fedoruk better, but he’s just one of many guys on the Wild right now that I’m just not sure what they bring to the table.
What’s funny is that he usually winds up when he has the puck coming down the wing, and it’s not that he has a bad shot, but I’ve never ever ever seen him come close to scoring with a slap shot from the wing, but for some reason he seems to be in love with it. Usually a D-man gets a stick in front of it and deflects it away. So what does he do this time? Snaps off a wrist shot into the corner. I figure he finally must’ve heard me saying repeatedly “Why are you winding that one up?”
Anyway, good for him getting the game-winner. Nice to see some of these guys stepping up once in a while. Overall, I think the Wild were pretty lucky to get two points out of this one. They are still making frequent bad mistakes in their own end, but tonight Backstrom looked like Backstrom of last season and bailed them out enough to win. So there you go. Hopefully it’s the start of something better.
We are going to have a tough week.
Phoenix has a hot goalie with something to prove.
St Louis has added enough Wild problem players-particularly Kariya–that will make it a challenge.
Philly is a whole new team. And we had BETTER beware of Jones–I just read this–
UPDATE:
Bergeron not doing that well. Still many symptoms from post-concussion syndrome, might be out for the season, could even affect his career. Too bad.
And of course, the rematch with Vancouver.
A man considerably wiser than me once said that winning cures all ills.
With all due respct, I’d submit that he was partially right in this case: winning cures MOST ills.
A better overall effort and obviously result.
Good for Radio, responding like that.
40-odd saves for Nik, hopefully that will put a little spring back into his step.
Back to the top of the division, though with three nights’ worth of games until our next one, we will not be leading the NW when next the Wild take to the ice.
Better. Still some room for improvement, but better.
Mostly agree with you, Missy. Phoenix has been transformed since Ilya Bryzgalov arrived in the desert. The ‘Yotes have won 4 in a row (including at Anaheim and vs. Toronto last night).
Philadelphia does not look like the same team they were at the start of this season, when they were literally pounding everyone into submission. They look like world-beaters one night, and egg beaters the next night.
St. Louis on the other hand, that looks on paper like we could win that one. They have been very inconsistent lately, beating Columbus and Vancouver but losing to Nashville at home after beating them in Nashville.
Hopefully our ‘new grit’ will be shown a tape of the Oct. 13 Wild-Phoenix game, where Gaborik was taken a few runs at late in the third period.
NiNY: I would say ‘a lot of room’ for improvement left after last night’s Nashville game.
It’s great that the Wild are back on top in the NW — for now. The upcoming four-game homestand will hopefully be the tonic they need to right the ship.
The Wild have avoided the iceberg, at least for now. If they could only find their way back out to warmer waters…let’s hope they do so. This week.
I read blog thus far- Matt Foy will be gone by Wednesday unless a trade of sorts is made with someone, becasue Demitra is back. Those of you who think Fedoruk is gone think again. He will become JL project. The key to the Wilds newfound toughness is the PK, and not being dumb like Fedoruk has acted thus far. Koivou will be active and then one more roster move must be made unless another injury takes place…. It would seem to be likely a trade would be made in the next week maybe
BTW to JayZ: Fedoruk cannot be sent to the AHL unless he clears waivers again. He’s already been on waivers at least twice this season. That’s how the Wild got him in the first place.
Missy, I forgot that we play Vancouver again next Sunday (5 PM start; remember that, folks!) It will be interesting how the ‘new grit’ Wild do when all the characters, (old and new), are in the lineup (and Mattias Ohlund is back, in his new role as ‘Boogey target’) next weekend.
Fedoruk will be a helpful addition to the next Canuck game. If he helps the Wild he will be here for awhile.
WRT- FSN never ran that Oct 13 Phoenix game- Did you say guys were takin runs at Gaby?
It seems with who is coming to town, we will be glad for Fedoruk’s presence.
Now we can send either Boogie or Fedoruk to take a run at Mattias Ohlund… Now I see how this all works, nice..
Matt Cooke will need to have eyes in the back of his chickens**t head.
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